A Year of Beauty- Photography Challenge- Year 2

[Samtian]

September/October is here so break time is over!

Time to start with some fundamentals. Photography has it's own set of "rules". Which of course are meant to be broken, but it's really helpful to know some basics. Starting with the rule of 3rds in composition. What you do is place your subject on one of the "imaginary" lines that cut a photo into thirds ( 9 sections). I do this rule often, but sometimes parents don't like it in their pictures and want the subjects centered. Included is images with the lines showing. Just basic set up so you can see it. One of the easiest ways to get something on one of the lines is to crop it down. When you crop an image you usually get the lines that show up, using those lines tells you where the "thirds" are, and just line your subject up with one of them. 

If you want to get really technical I encourage you to look up the Golden Ratio and learn about it. It has many names and it is way too mathematical for my brain to comprehend. To my knowledge I don't think I have ever taken a golden ratio image. I have golden triangle but not ratio. Check it out! photoworkout dot com/golden-ratio-photography/  

Hopefully you can see the lines...I should have thought it out and used a dark background. 

What a great first year we had!! Even if I dropped the ball sometimes! I decided to change things up this year with the themes. They will be a little more challenging this year.

2023-

April- DOF 2 images.

May- Flash/Artificial Light.

June- What you see vs. What I see

July- Break

August- Break

September/October- Rule of 3rds.

2022 challenges-

April- Lipstick

May- Eye Shadow

June- Primer/Foundation/Concealer/CC/BB

July- Highlighters

August- Brushes

September- Sheet Masks

October- Hair Care

November- Fragrance

December- Nail Polish

January- Blush/Bronzer

February- Candles/Wax Melts/ Diffusers

The challenge and "rules"-

1. Flat lays and staged photos only. I'll post examples below. But no faces or people allowed in your photos. (Though you can include photographs).

2. All photos you take must be your own. 

3. Post as many images as you want, you have a whole month to get creative with each theme. Post one, post everyday, doesn't matter.

4. Let's talk gear and products! Tell us about your image. List the products and colors, talk to us about your concept and how it came to be, taken with your phone or DSLR? 

Here are some helpful reads- digital-photography-school dot com/flat-lay-photography/  and digital-photography-school dot com/tips-for-getting-started-with-still-life-photography/

Here are some of my example images I've taken in the past-

Gucci Bloom Eau De Toilette 1 oz/ 30 mL 

Floral Street Sunflower Pop Eau De Parfum Travel Spray 0.34 oz/ 10 mL 

[itsfi]

Awww, you're so kind @Buootiful! Thank you! 😍 Taking photos has been a creative outlet for me. I'm really looking forward to learning more!

[Titian06]

I love this photo, @itsfi ! 🧡❤🧡❤  The orange-red color combo is lovely.  The overall pic is so pleasing to look at. 👀

[itsfi]

Thank you so much @Titian06. The side benefits of doing some spring cleaning - a backdrop for my photo and a scarf to add to my spring wardrobe. 😉 

[CynthieLu]

Orange is such a appealing colour @itsfi I think it was a bold choice to layer the colours like this ( I would not have thought of it as a back drop) nicely done! It really pops and the colours draw my eye and the texture contrast adds a little something too 🧡

[itsfi]

@CynthieLu, thank you! I've learned so much from this thread in the first year alone and am super excited for all the challenges to come this year. 📷 It's been fun thinking about how I can use things I already have as props and backgrounds. When I first started taking photos, I'd used a plain white bath towel or one of the counters in the house. I still do rely on those every day things in the majority of my shots. I don't have much orange so it was easier to come up with this background for the mascara. The first time I tried a monochromatic shot, it was an orange background as well - construction paper and a clutch purse. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi That makes me so happy to hear! I can't wait to get started on the new years themes, after I get caught up on my emails. I love watching the progress and how you are developing your eye. I love this image! Mono is fun and challenging and you knocked it out of the park!

[itsfi]

Thank you @Samtian! For the encouraging comment and also for this thread. I'm looking forward to learning more and love the direction your taking with this year's themes. I have so much to learn and I feel like there's going to be so many great opportunities to learn about and practice even more techniques!  Soooo excited!!! 😻

[itsfi]

This was a fun one for me. I love the simplicity of the shot itself and how it came about. I was taking some flat lay photos for a haul pic and the composition of one of those layouts gave me a thought for this set up. 

Photo details:

Spoiler

Product(s):	Diptyque L'eau Papier
Camera:	iPhone X
Background:	Table
Prop(s):	Diptyque gift box
Other Material:	N/A
Lighting:	Natural lighting; indoors; light (after a rainstorm) coming in above and to the left of the frame
Editing:	Cropped at sides, rotated slightly to the left

[Samtian]

@itsfi I really really enjoy this! 

[itsfi]

Thank you @Samtian! It’s a black and white in color. 😆 The bottle on this is beautiful. 

[LCResz]

The rare and gorgeous Guerlain Glamourwing!

Part bee, part butterfly, all beautiful 😉😍

[Buootiful]

What a great layout and such beautiful makeup objet d'art @LCResz 😍

[Samtian]

@LCResz That is so creative! I love it. 

[itsfi]

Love your creativity @LCResz. 💖 Beautiful photo.

[blackkitty2014]

Your photo makes my heart sings. Truly beautiful ♥️🥰🌹❤️ @LCResz 

[curlychiquita]

This is gorgeous, @LCResz!

[Titian06]

I love the Glamourwing, @LCResz ! 😍🦋🐝  Very creative!

[fatimamummy]

Trying to jump back in the posting rhythm. Another photo from Archieve.

Nest Candles shot with iPhone 12 Pro Max and colour corrected in Lightroom. Light if I remember correctly is a combination of natural light from window and a ring light. For props I used my most favourite medium aka books and there is a little white vase on the corner.

[Buootiful]

Wow, makes me want to have a philosophical conversation in front of this candle @fatimamummy 😍

[Samtian]

@fatimamummy So beautiful! I love the mix of lighting. 

[itsfi]

Exquisite @fatimamummy. I'm always so in awe of the elegance in your compositions. 😍 The candles NESTled against the books and vase creates such a beautiful mood. Thank you for sharing about the lighting; I have a small ring light that I don't really use but am adding your lighting combination to my list of techniques to try.